Theatre News

Worthing’s theatres to remain council-owned

Anne Morley-Priestman

Worthing Borough Council has decided to keep the management of its three theatres in-house. These are the Assembly Hall, the Connaught Theatre and the Pavilion Theatre. A nine-month consultation with 17 outside managements failed to produce an external business plan which could offer the required savings.

Now the council’s own theatre management team has been asked to prepare a business plan which would cut the present level of subsidy while offering an enhanced experience to theatregoers.

This business plan could include upgrading the actual buildings, offering more ticket-booking options, possibly installing 3D film projection facilities in the Connaught and re-assessing the current programming policies.

Council leader Paul Yallop has acknowledged that the ”current level of public subsidy is unaffordable in the medium to long term”. The Theatres Working Group set up to consider the bids to run Worthing’s theatres will remain in place to ensure the targets set out in the business plan are met.